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Audio, Video, or Text? Which Content is Best for Your Blog?

When it comes to creating website or blog content, you always want to put your audience first. This means not only making sure your content provides value, but also that it’s in a format your audience will appreciate.

A perfect example of this can be seen with text content. The internet already has over a billion active websites, which are all pushing out a massive amount of text content daily. However, if you want to rank such content in Google… you are going to have some massive competition. On the flip side, there is also social media and video outlets like YouTube, which have more engaging content, but also with less saturation.

Throw audio into the mix and you have a whole audience of podcasting and streaming music/radio stations just waiting to hear what you have to say. As bloggers, content creators and brands, it’s your opportunity to find which medium works best for your audience, and how to deliver it to them.

Know Your Audience and Who You Are Speaking To

Before deciding on which content method is best for your audience, you should first know who your audience is and why they are coming to your site (or viewing your content).

In the world of blogging, this is usually all about first creating content and letting your audience find you through the search results and social media. However, as previously mentioned — these outlets are now more competitive than ever. The better option is to simply find your audience, what platform they are using to find content, and then make sure you get your best work in front of them.

Here are three examples of where text, video, and audio might work best.

TEXT – Blogging is all about text, so you are definitely going to want to start in this area. If your plans are to create a site and rank organically in Google for target keywords, you will want to stay focused on your text content creation. Google is advanced, but it’s still not looking at and ranking video and audio in the same way as it does for regular content rich text sides.

VIDEO – The demand for video is only increasing as more users are accessing the internet through their mobile devices. When it comes to video, it’s all about engagement and giving your audience something to act on. Video also works extremely well when trying to walk someone through a process or provide reviews and tutorials to an audience. To back this statement even more, Facebook is now looking at video content creation more than anything else. (Keep an eye on “Live Video” in 2017)

AUDIO – Just like how video is on an upward trend, so is audio. However, when it comes to audience, the engagement factor jumps incredibly high as it’s usually when someone is in the car, at the gym or away from the computer. This is why podcasting has done extremely well for so many content creators and bloggers around the world. In short, it brings your content to life in a way text simply never could, while also eliminating the various distractions that online video provides.

As great as each of these content platforms are individuals, they are best when combined. Text content will always be key for “online content” and ranking in the search results, but it would be a huge mistake to not include original video and graphic design within your content as well. Once your text content is published online, take it to the next level by releasing an audio file (or a full podcast episode) for anyone who prefers to listen to your content versus actually reading it.

How Service Brands are Using Blogging and Online Chat

For most of us, blogging is simply a way for us to put our content out for the world to see. However, to think that blogging is only being used by individuals, entrepreneurs and small media outlets would be a huge mistake.

So what does this mean for big name brands and the type of content they produce? Simple, they not only need to provide value, but also need to take advantage of that B2C opportunity they currently have in place. Text content is great, audio and video is better — but offering a live 1-to-1 chat opportunity is even better.

Just think about the last time you went online to find a solution to a problem you had. Wouldn’t it have been great to been able to get in touch with the brand or company directly, versus simply reading through endless articles and help forums? This is something we are seeing more businesses and brands implementing into their own websites and blogs. By having the power to use audio and video communications like BlueJeans, it’s no longer an option to leave your audience with dead content that is no longer interactive. The value in being able to connect a brand with their customers through chat, audio or video is immense.

In the world of customer service, you simply can’t allow messages to be lost. After all, when people come to you then they want to be sure they can get a real answer to their problems and they also want it quickly as well. This interactive content and engagement may be the last shot at saving a disgruntled customer who simply wanted to feel appreciated.

What’s the Urgency of Your Content and Messaging?

According to the Open Forum of American Express, one of the most important things that you can do, is to simply understand the urgency of it all. For most bloggers and brands creating content online, it’s not about just throwing something out there for your audience to see, then letting it sit there and never be read again. The true path to success and value in content creation and blogging is to put in the time, work and effort to make sure your content is always working for you.

Below are three common types of online content that all need to be treated differently based on their time sensitivity.

Product Reviews – Everyone goes online to look for product reviews, coupons, and discounts before buying anything. Assuming this content is being created around a product or service that will be around for as while, it’s safe to say an audience will find value in this form of content for years to come. The sites that find the most success with online reviews, are usually the ones that put in the effort to also provide video tutorials as well.

News and Entertainment – While there is always going to be an overwhelming amount of content being produced around world news, politics and entertainment… the shelf life on this type of content is usually short. If you were to visit any celebrity gossip blog, you would likely see they have a massive amount of content being created on a daily basis, but they are mostly visual and short in content.

Customer Support & Questions – For brands and businesses with a blog, it’s a never-ending mission to always try and provide the best value possible. This includes product information, reviews, recalls, support and more. Text content should be standard for all of these topics, but the option for advance information and video/chat/phone support should also exist as well.

No matter what type of content you are creating online, the most important thing is to understand your audience, how they prefer to access your content and they you are providing value at all times. This applies to new bloggers, professional bloggers and even Fortune 500 bloggers.

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